Golf ball

ABSTRACT

A direction indicator on a golf ball consisting of a triangle the bisecting line of which is on the circumference of an intersecting diametrical plane of the golf ball, the sides of said triangle being concave, curved inwardly of the triangle and each side being of a length equal to about one-fourth of the circumference of said diametrical plane so as to appear as straight sides to a player viewing the golf ball from directly above said triangle; in a modified form the base of the triangle and the bisecting line are utilized.

nited States Patent [191 Baker Aug. 21, 1973 GOLF BALL [76] Inventor: Marion A. Baker, 270 Mountain Ave., Piedmont, Calif. 9461 1 [22] Filed: Apr. 10, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 242,618

[52] US. Cl. 273/213, 40/327 [51] Int. Cl A63b 43/00 [58] Field of Search 273/183 C, 232, 213, 273/62, 199, 200; 40/327 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,842,944 1/1932 OBrien 273/183 C 3,420,529 1/1969 Goranson et al. 40/327 X 676,506 6/1901 Knight et a1. 273/213 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 189,551 12/1922 Great Britain 273/232 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Trademark Registration No. 41,996, Feb. 2, 1904.

Primary Examiner-George .I. Marlo AttorneyGeorge B. White [57] ABSTRACT A direction indicator on a golf ball consisting of a triangle the bisecting line of which is on the circumference of an intersecting diarnetrical plane of the golf ball, the sides of said triangle being concave, curved inwardly of the triangle and each side being of a length equal to about one-fourth of the circumference of said diametrical plane so as to appear as straight sides to a player viewing the golf ball from directly above said triangle; in a modified form the base of the triangle and the bisecting line are utilized.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures GOLF BALL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There were many attempts to provide golf balls with directional indicators, from painted thick lines and dots such as in Knight et al., US. Pat. No. 676,506 of l90l to the narrow stripe about a great circle of the golf ball shown in the DeVries U.S. Pat. No. 2,709,595 of 1955.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an indicator of such proportions that the player viewing the golf ball from along the green is enabled to accurately align the golf ball with the flag or with the hole, sometime allowing for fade, and then viewing directly from above the ball, the player is able to align the face of the putter along an indicator line at right angles to the directional line of alignment to the hole, thereby to provide a true direction for stroking the ball toward the hole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the golf ball as it appears viewed di-rectly from above, showing the face of the putter positioned parallel with the base line of the direction indicator.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the golf ball showing the inwardly curved sides of the indicator triangle.

FIG. 3 is another view of the golf ball showing the relative position of the eye viewing it and the straight side appearance of the triangle to the viewer.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a golf ball with a modified form of indicator.

FIG. 5 is another view of the modified form showing the projection lines from the eye looking down on the golf ball.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The golf ball 1 is of the usual regulation size of about 1% inch diameter. The direction indicator is preferably a triangle having a base 2 and sides 3. The triangle is preferably isosceles, and the bisector line 4 extending from an apex 5 at right angles to the side forming the base 2 is on the circumference of a diametrical plane intersecting said golf ball.

The base 2 and each side 3 are concave, being curved inwardly of the triangle. Namely the side forming the base 2 is curved toward the apex 5.

The length of the base 2 and sides 3 is about 1% inches or 1% inches which is about one-fourth of the circumference of a great circle of the golf ball, namely the circle formed by a diametrical plane intersecting said golf ball.

When the golf ball is viewed from above, as shown in FIG. 3, the sides of the triangle of the above described dimension, although curved inwardly on the surface of the golf ball, appear to the eye as straight sides 7.

In the modified form shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the sides 3 of the triangle are omitted and the convex bisecting line is substituted. The bisecting line 10 lies on a diametrical plane of the golf ball at right angles to the convex side of the base 2, so that when viewed from above both appear as straight lines. I

The player kneels slightly behind the ball facing the hole and adjusts the position of the ball so that the apex 5 of the triangle or the bisecting line 10 points in the direction of the spot on the green toward which the player wants to stroke the put. On a flat surface the apex 5 or the bisecting line 10 is aligned directly toward the hole. On a sloping surface the apex 5 or the bisecting line 10 is pointed to the right or to the left of the hole according to the slope. From such kneeling position behind the ball the player is able to precisely judge the intended line of travel of the ball and is able to accurately point the apex 5 or the bisecting line 10 in that intended direction. Then the player assumes his putting position and, as he looks at the ball, all the sides of the triangle, or the base 2 and bisecting line 10, appear as straight lines, and the side forming the base 2 is near the back of the ball, nearest to the putter 8 and forms an accurate reference line to which the putter face 9 is then adjusted in accurate parallel relation. Then the player strokes the ball directly toward the apex 5 or the bisecting line Nb, keeping the face of the putter parallel with the base 2. This allows the player to concentrate on the ball and aids in good directional putting.

I claim: I. A golf ball provided on its surface with three indicator lines including a concave curved line defining the base of a triangle at right angles to a diametrical plane of the golf ball, and two intersecting lines extending from said base line, defining the sides of said triangle, and defining a directing element on said diametrical plane pointing along said diametrical plane of said golf ball at right angles to said base line, said base line and said two directing lines being so dimensioned that when viewed from above said three lines appear to the viewer to be straight lines with said base line being at a right angle to the direction indicated by said two intersecting lines, said two directing element lines being the apex of a triangle a bisecting line of which lies on said diametrical plane, the distance between said apex and said base line along said bisecting line being about one-fourth of the circumference of said diametrical plane, said base line of said triangle being concave curved toward said apex, the two side lines of said triangle being concave curving inwardly of the triangle. 2. The golf ball specified in claim 1, and said triangle being substantially isosceles, each side having a chord length substantially equal to about one-fourth of the circumference of a diametrical plane intersecting said golf ball. 

1. A golf ball provided on its surface with three indicator lines including a concave curved line defining the base of a triangle at right angles to a diametrical plane of the golf ball, and two intersecting lines extending from said base line, defining the sides of said triangle, and defining a directing element on said diametrical plane pointing along said diametrical plane of said golf ball at right angles to said base line, said base line and said two directing lines being so dimensioned that when viewed from above said three lines appear to the viewer to be straight lines with said base line being at a right angle to the direction indicated by said two intersecting lines, said two directing element lines being the apex of a triangle a bisecting line of which lies on said diametrical plane, the distance between said apex and said base line along said bisecting line being about one-fourth of the circumference of said diametrical plane, said base line of said triangle being concave curved toward said apex, the two side lines of said triangle being concave curving inwardly of the triangle.
 2. The golf ball specified in claim 1, and said triangle being substantially isosceles, each side having a chord length substantially equal to about one-fourth of the circumference of a diametrical plane intersecting said golf ball. 